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Letters: Roads require sustainable funding

Councilman Stephen Joost is once again calling into question the extension of the gasoline tax as a means to fund transportation improvements in Jacksonville.

Previous city councils are famous for wanting to cut taxes of all kinds in order to get re-elected and to still maintain high level of services for a growing metropolitan area.

Unless the automobiles and trucks are going to start levitating over our road corridors in the next 20 years some form of dedicated funding needs to be in place to maintain the current road system.

Unless we are going to outfit cars and trucks with devices to monitor their travel distance or to impose travel zones with fee charges, a “transportation fuel tax” will need to be initiated to capture the alternative fuels of the future.

A recent radio discussion by the executive director of JTA outlined new initiatives (again) to improve transit opportunities in the metro area.

The federal government is and can be a major contributor to our transportation/transit system.

But the feds want strong financial commitments from the local community. Increasing the “transportation fuel tax” by an additional penny to seven cents and dedicating two cents of that to transit would go a long way to solving our immediate and long-term transportation agenda.

Thomas W. Atkins, Jacksonville

DIVERSITY OF OPINIONS

All sides explored

One of the greatest freedoms granted to all Americans is speech. Ever since my college days I have enjoyed that right and will not relinquish it.

Often it seems that the fringe right-wing writers of this city have control of opinions concerning race, politics, crime and economics. But it is only because we seldom hear from others.

I believe we need an explosion of ideas from the rest of our ordinary people who work each day to make this city great.

For instance, throngs of people have purchased the Affordable Health Care package.

Thank goodness more Floridians are paying into the health system. Those patriots railing against it have no alternative to offer.

Robert A. Taylor, Jacksonville

WE THE PEOPLE …

… Are split in two

The letter writer says he wants to “Return to the Constitution.”

What he means, I think, is he wants everybody to live by what he thinks the Constitution says. Just looking at the first three words of the Preamble, we see the problem with that wish.

We are a split country on most issues.

There is no single “We the People” on any issue.

Nearly half of the people lose on each issue!

Who is “We the People”? And what do they want?

Some people want tighter gun controls while others want to be able to carry guns anywhere they wish.

Which of them is “We the People”? Some want ranchers to pay fees to graze cattle on public land (as Ronald Reagan ordered).

Others think the government shouldn’t even own land. Which is “We the People” this time?

This is repeated in a hundred different situations. Nobody wants government where they don’t want it, but everybody wants government where they do want it.

We are all tired of losing half of the disagreements.

We all want government to do what we want!

But as long as people are different in a democracy, you will win some and you will lose some.

Sorry.

Edwin Thomas, Jacksonville

CREATIONISM

For true believers

The recent article in the Times-Union stating that JCCI was doing a study on the theory of evolution and on creationism prompted me to respond.

I am nearly 82 years old and was taught in church and Sunday School since the age of two weeks theistic evolution. This was fortified in college and medical school teachings.

It was not until I started taking the Bible seriously in my 50s that I found that a true Christian could not believe in anything but creationism.

If one truly believes the Bible, then one finds that death came only after Adam and Eve sinned.

Therefore, there could not have been any evolution prior since plants and animals could not have died prior to then.

Joseph Stokes, physician, Orange Park

REPLY: GUEST COLUMNS

A different view

A reader asks, why not publish more opinion columns from elected officials like U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson?

Here are two of his comments:

■ “The tea party is no more popular than the Klan.”

■ “If the hood fits wear it.”

A reader suggests that his columns are “filled with facts with citations and objective and rational analysis of these facts.”

Sounds like pure hate speech to me.

Mary Beth Lynch, Ponte Vedra Beach

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Letters: Roads require sustainable funding

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